Linux on Windows, Linux in Hollywood, and Diskless MiniPCs

Welcome, everyone, to the Linux newsletter, the once-a-week mailing of new
articles and weblogs of interest to system administrators, developers, and
users of Linux and open source software. Here are this week's articles.

If you've been in the Linux world for a while, you're probably familiar
with the idea of dual-booting. Sometimes, you can't afford to give up an
existing operating system to try out another. There are more sophisticated
approaches, whether running an emulation layer that intercepts and translates
API calls or pretends to be another operating system altogether. The new
Linux 2.6 kernels even support User Mode Linux, allowing you to run a Linux
system atop another Linux system. Of course, that doesn't really help Windows
users who want to try out Linux. That's where coLinux comes in. KIVILCIM
Hindistan's coLinux:
Linux for Windows Without Rebooting explains how to install coLinux, a
featureful Debian distribution atop a running Windows machine without
destroying your Windows partition or, well, rebooting. Very clever.

If you're already happy with dedicated Linux, perhaps you're more
interested in hearing about new and useful applications. Howard Wen's latest
article, CinePaint:
The GIMP Goes Hollywood, explores a high-powered, high-fidelity, and
sadly, abandoned experiment by the GIMP developers that has undergone a
dramatic resurrection. Some big special effects studios love open source
software — here's one piece of it.

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Finally, recent real-life discussions have focused on using old 486s and
Pentium computers as OpenBSD firewalls. While they do the job, their noise,
power consumption, age, and performance are less than impressive. Michael
Lucas' Diskless,
Low-Form-Factor OpenBSD Systems provides a nicer alternative. Perhaps a
miniature PC is right for you. Here's how to make one work without requiring
a disk or a Compact Flash card.